How to Defend in Shogi

by Yasuharu Oyama

Basic Formation 5 (Gin-yagura)

Defence by meeting the attack head-on often occurs in practical play.
Here is another example for your reference.

The Yagura complex includes
castles such as the Gold Yagura, the Silver Yagura and so on.
In Diagram 1, black has formed a Silver Yagura while white has
started attacking the bishop's head with ...P-7e, Px7e, ...Sx7e.

Black defends with 4 generals. In this case, as in the previous example,
the idea of meeting the opponent's attack head-on springs to mind.

In the preceding, if black plays 9. Px5f instead of 9. B-2f+, he loses after 9...P*5g
10. Gx5g B*3i 11. R-5h S*4i 12. R-5i B-4h+ (Diagram E). If 10. G-4h, 10... S*3i,
and if 10. G5h-6h, 10... S*4g. In any case, black is worse.
Try to master the attacking method after white's 9... P*5g. It is a tesuji that
often occurs in actual games.

Redeploying the bishop to 6h via 7i results in a big loss of time when the
bishops are exchanged. As we can now see, meeting the white's attack head-on
by pushing the pawn to 6e is black's best countermeasure.

In the preceding variation, if 5. Gx8f Rx8f, white's rook will promote and the
position will be troublesome for black. On the other hand, the immediate 5. Bx5e,
omitting 5. P*8e, allows 5... B-5i+ 6. Kx5i Rx8g+ (Diagram J), and again, though
the position is not necessarily bad for black, the promoted rook at 8g is annoying.
Such annoyances are best avoided.

Diagram JAfter 6... Rx8g+

2... P*8g is a tesuji to be aware of, but in this case, it fails since black's
formation is too solid.

4... R-8d is the best retreat. If the rook goes all the way back 4... R-8b,
white plays 5. Bx5e P*7c 6. P*7d (Diagram K). In Diagram K, white has no good defence.
The capture of P5e is inevitable, but allowing the rook to be attacked at the same
time will naturally be doubly disadvantageous. We must avoid allowing a capture to
simultaneously attack a second piece.

Black's 5. Bx5e captures a pawn and attacks the lance on 9a. Rarely can we play
such a juicy move. This counterattack was the reason for black's 1. P-6e in Diagram 1.
White proceded to fall into the trap, but once he started to attack with Sx7e,
this result is unavoidable. As you can see from this example, you must be especially
careful when launching an offensive. 5... P*7c is a bitter pill, but there is no
better way to prevent black's B-9a+. 5... P-6d instead gives black a good attacking
formation after 6. S*7e R-8e 7. S-7f (Diagram L).

Diagram LAfter 7. S-7f

5...P*8b, on the other hand, cuts off the rook's retreat and puts and end to white's
8th file attack. This defensive move is out of question.

6. S-7f is good move, intending S*7e or B-6f. Instead of
6. S-7f, you may want to play 6. B-6f to threaten the rook. However, this
idea backfires after 6... S*7e 7. B-5e S-4d 8. B-8h P*8f (Diagram M).

Diagram MAfter 8... P*8f

"Do not jump at a move that seems too good". Please keep this phrase in mind
at all times.

In Diagram 4, white has nothing to show for the loss of a pawn. His attack is entirely
shut out. Black's defensive strategy of meeting the attack head-on has been a complete
success.